Netherlands

Working time & culture

The law allows up to 12 hours per day and 60 per week; a regular full-time week runs 36 to 40 hours across four or five days.

Notably, Europe's highest part-time rate (around 44 %) brings the actual average working week down to roughly 31 hours.

Forms of employment

Fixed-term and permanent contracts are both common. Dutch dismissal law is strongly employee-oriented.

Income taxes

Income tax follows a three-box system. In Box I (work and home ownership) progressive rates reach up to 49.5 %.

Key for expats: the 30 % ruling lets employers pay foreign professionals up to 30 % of salary tax-free as compensation for extraterritorial costs.

Employer payroll costs

On top of gross salary come statutory social security and pension contributions — typically 15–20 %. Including holiday pay and company benefits, total costs can reach 30–40 % above gross.

Collective agreements (CAO)

Around 80 % of employees fall under a CAO. Many are declared universally binding, fixing minimum wages, working hours, overtime, holidays and mandatory company pensions sector-wide.

Hiring from abroad

EU/EEA and Swiss citizens need no work permit. Third-country nationals usually come in via the Kennismigrant (highly-skilled migrant) scheme — and the employer must hold a sponsorship licence; without it, hiring third-country candidates is not permitted. English is the working language across much of business and tech.